FIS President Apologizes for Comparing Russian Olympic Ban to Holocaust

“I apologize unreservedly for any offence I have caused. I am truly sorry,” said FIS President Gian-Franco Kasper in a statement circulated by the IOC after comparing calls to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics to the Holocaust.

“I’m just against bans or sanctioning of innocent people. Like Mr Hitler did – all Jews were to be killed, independently of what they did or did not do,” Kasper was reported as saying during discussions on the fringes of the PyeongChang meeting of the IOC Executive Board of which he is a member.

Challenged by reporters, Kasper said: “Why not? Of course it’s more extreme. But just the fact that the place you come from makes you guilty, I’m not OK for this, really not.” The full wording of the statement the IOC circulated “on his behalf” reads: “It was an inappropriate and insensitive comment. I apologize unreservedly for any offence I have caused. I am truly sorry.”

This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.

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